Now that mine has arrived, I feel safe blogging about this. I think I've tried to get the yarns with the cult followings too long that I didn't feel like I could blog about makeup since it too might disappear from my shopping cart. (It sucks when somethings gets whooshed out of your cart before you can check out.)
I got an email with this lovely kit by Smashbox. I had been thinking that I needed new makeup, and I dreaded to think just how long I'd had the makeup I've been using. Voila, into my email came a message from Sephora showing the set, which by now hopefully you've gone and looked at. For me it's perfect. I wear neutral makeup, and here is a complete set of neutrals. I'm a very happy camper, and I've already tossed my old blusher into the trash, along with a very nearly empty eyeshadow. There's something so satisfying about new makeup in the right colors.
Yes, I know, not a bit of knitting content or even a picture to liven up this post. I'm just a bit tired from waking up very early the past 2 days since Keith had to go to 8 a.m. meetings. Yeah, I'm usually up then, but I'm not used to waking up at 5:30. I'm glad our wakeup time is back to normal tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm heading off to bed. I read about 1/2 of The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie last night, and I plan to finish it tonight. Ah, here's the knitting content. It's a Miss Marple mystery, and quite a fun, quick read.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Hexed finished.
I finished the hat last night. I did unpick the blanket stitch the pattern called for and used single crochet to put the hexagons together. Once I got finished, I looked at it and decided that the SIL undergoing chemo probably wouldn't like it. It's not really her style. I mostly like it, but it's not my colors, so I'm donating it to Chemoflage, a local organization that supports women undergoing cancer treatments.
I will admit that the yarn was an impulse buy from Wal*mart. The pattern calls for Lamb's Pride Bulky & Worsted, and I find that yarn to be particularly itchy. I knew I absolutely didn't want to use it for a chemo cap. I was picking up some Peaches & Creme, and saw the yarn. I thought it would work really well since the colors were what she wanted. Knitting it up though, I found it to have that acrylicky feel to it, then some of the fibers were pulled when a cat was just lying on the hat. For the record, it was Bernat Softee Chunky. It's is a very soft yarn, which is what attracted me to it. I'll use up what's left knitting teddy bear clothes for knitting guild. Right now my focus is getting a few more hats knit up before SIL loses her hair.
It was interesting to read about the other Hexed projects on Ravelry. The designer put her hat together with blanket stitch, which is easy enough to do on one edge. I had some difficulty using it to join the pieces together, and so did most of the other people who have made this hat. I just love Ravelry for checking out patterns and finding out if other people have had the same issues that I've had. I'm not thrilled with the way the single crochet looks, and I'll have some time to work these out when I make the next one.
Today is going to be absolutely lovely here in Georgia. Sunny, highs near 70. My daffodils have started blooming, as have the crocuses and hyacinths. I do love sitting in the soft spring air near the flowers and breathing in the different flower fragrances. There's nothing quite like hyacinths in the spring. They are one of my favorites. We have a really weedy mulberry tree out back that is just incredible when it blooms in June. The perfume drifts into the open windows and is so lovely. Spring is so wonderful, but I know that the dog days of August are just behind them. I will try to enjoy the present moment and not think about the probably drought and heat of the upcoming summer.
I will admit that the yarn was an impulse buy from Wal*mart. The pattern calls for Lamb's Pride Bulky & Worsted, and I find that yarn to be particularly itchy. I knew I absolutely didn't want to use it for a chemo cap. I was picking up some Peaches & Creme, and saw the yarn. I thought it would work really well since the colors were what she wanted. Knitting it up though, I found it to have that acrylicky feel to it, then some of the fibers were pulled when a cat was just lying on the hat. For the record, it was Bernat Softee Chunky. It's is a very soft yarn, which is what attracted me to it. I'll use up what's left knitting teddy bear clothes for knitting guild. Right now my focus is getting a few more hats knit up before SIL loses her hair.
It was interesting to read about the other Hexed projects on Ravelry. The designer put her hat together with blanket stitch, which is easy enough to do on one edge. I had some difficulty using it to join the pieces together, and so did most of the other people who have made this hat. I just love Ravelry for checking out patterns and finding out if other people have had the same issues that I've had. I'm not thrilled with the way the single crochet looks, and I'll have some time to work these out when I make the next one.
Today is going to be absolutely lovely here in Georgia. Sunny, highs near 70. My daffodils have started blooming, as have the crocuses and hyacinths. I do love sitting in the soft spring air near the flowers and breathing in the different flower fragrances. There's nothing quite like hyacinths in the spring. They are one of my favorites. We have a really weedy mulberry tree out back that is just incredible when it blooms in June. The perfume drifts into the open windows and is so lovely. Spring is so wonderful, but I know that the dog days of August are just behind them. I will try to enjoy the present moment and not think about the probably drought and heat of the upcoming summer.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Is this a perk of aging? Maybe.
This past week has been a very busy and tiring one for Keith. Our house was built in 1961 at nearly the bottom of a hill, just barely above an area that drains into a creek and occasionally floods. This translates into a basement that has some water issues that Keith is finally addressing. He spent last weekend with an air chisel clearing out the cracks to fill in with special cement. He worked on it all day long on both Saturday and Sunday. He also spent part of Tuesday working in the basement.
So where is the perk of aging I mentioned above? Here it is. Drumroll please. At some point in life, depending upon the person, you reach a point where you'll just do whatever you please. There is no peer pressure anymore. If you are dead-tired and want to go to bed at 7:30 on a Saturday night, you can do it. Let's face it, the Margaritas you had at dinner might hasten bedtime by a few hours too, and the wife is just as happy to have a few uninterrupted hours to figure out how to put together a hat. (The pattern I found on Knitty has an oddity to it that apparently some other knitters on Ravelry had trouble with also. Gotta love Ravelry.) I hear Keith's sleep breathing, so I'm off to have a cup of tea, pop Kolchak, The Nightstalker into the DVD player, and figure out just how in the hell to join knitted pieces with blanket stitch. Or, I may be lazy and just crochet that darn thing together. Yes, I'll entertain you with pictures of the hat once I get it figured out.
So where is the perk of aging I mentioned above? Here it is. Drumroll please. At some point in life, depending upon the person, you reach a point where you'll just do whatever you please. There is no peer pressure anymore. If you are dead-tired and want to go to bed at 7:30 on a Saturday night, you can do it. Let's face it, the Margaritas you had at dinner might hasten bedtime by a few hours too, and the wife is just as happy to have a few uninterrupted hours to figure out how to put together a hat. (The pattern I found on Knitty has an oddity to it that apparently some other knitters on Ravelry had trouble with also. Gotta love Ravelry.) I hear Keith's sleep breathing, so I'm off to have a cup of tea, pop Kolchak, The Nightstalker into the DVD player, and figure out just how in the hell to join knitted pieces with blanket stitch. Or, I may be lazy and just crochet that darn thing together. Yes, I'll entertain you with pictures of the hat once I get it figured out.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Vet visit results
Liver almost makes up for the indignity of wearing this bandage. Dr. Pat's lucky I've never been a biter.
We've just gotten back from the vet, and the results are mostly good. In fact, Dr. Pat said we were doing a good job with him. (I'm not offended that it wasn't a great job. We don't always remember to do things like defrost his liver every other day.)
She took blood to check a couple of things, and they are back within normal range. He's not dehydrated right now and has been maintaining his weight.
His oil glands in his tail are going a bit crazy, and he's not grooming as well, so we get to wash his tail for him. I guess after the sub-q, this should be easy?!?
He's had a bump on his neck for several years now. We've asked about it before and been told warty growth/possible cyst. Last time we were in they cleaned it up since he had scratched most of it off. Our last visit was 4 weeks ago, and the area hasn't healed. He has been irritating it and getting most uncooperative when we try to clean it. Today she decided to biopsy it to make sure it's not a carcinoma. We'll know the results within a few weeks. We'll probably know the results much sooner than that, but they tend to overestimate the time it takes. A CYA move for them.
That's one thing about older pets. You think, okay, I can get out of the vet for maybe $75 this time. Oh no! Before you know it, your cat has his neck bandaged up, and the bill has just tripled. In the past I've had friends who thought I might become one of those women with 50 cats. Let me mention now there is no freakin' way! Pets are expensive. And how do I end up with the ones that have food allergies? The ones that can only eat one certain type of food? I've had 2 dogs now with skin problems, as well as 2 cats. At least there are so many more options now than there were even 10 years ago when we were having so many problems with April and her skin. I know which food Sassy can eat with no problems. Oops, didn't mean to go off on a rant. My vets are wonderful and worth every penny, but ouch!
Anyway, I must go now. The liver is defrosted, and he's been periodically coming back here to meow at me before running back to the kitchen. I am a somewhat well trained human. My theory is that it's a mutual relationship. He comes when I call him, so I must return the favor. Besides, I also have to stuff pill pockets with his arthritis supplement.
She took blood to check a couple of things, and they are back within normal range. He's not dehydrated right now and has been maintaining his weight.
His oil glands in his tail are going a bit crazy, and he's not grooming as well, so we get to wash his tail for him. I guess after the sub-q, this should be easy?!?
He's had a bump on his neck for several years now. We've asked about it before and been told warty growth/possible cyst. Last time we were in they cleaned it up since he had scratched most of it off. Our last visit was 4 weeks ago, and the area hasn't healed. He has been irritating it and getting most uncooperative when we try to clean it. Today she decided to biopsy it to make sure it's not a carcinoma. We'll know the results within a few weeks. We'll probably know the results much sooner than that, but they tend to overestimate the time it takes. A CYA move for them.
That's one thing about older pets. You think, okay, I can get out of the vet for maybe $75 this time. Oh no! Before you know it, your cat has his neck bandaged up, and the bill has just tripled. In the past I've had friends who thought I might become one of those women with 50 cats. Let me mention now there is no freakin' way! Pets are expensive. And how do I end up with the ones that have food allergies? The ones that can only eat one certain type of food? I've had 2 dogs now with skin problems, as well as 2 cats. At least there are so many more options now than there were even 10 years ago when we were having so many problems with April and her skin. I know which food Sassy can eat with no problems. Oops, didn't mean to go off on a rant. My vets are wonderful and worth every penny, but ouch!
Anyway, I must go now. The liver is defrosted, and he's been periodically coming back here to meow at me before running back to the kitchen. I am a somewhat well trained human. My theory is that it's a mutual relationship. He comes when I call him, so I must return the favor. Besides, I also have to stuff pill pockets with his arthritis supplement.
The eyes have it
See my pile of eyes? Sounds totally macabre, doesn't it? I was looking for eyes for amigurumis and found a website through Ravelry that sold quite a variety. I don't need many eyes right now, and the shipping would be more than my purchase. I decided just to buy a lot more than I need so the shipping would seem reasonable, thus my pile of eyes.
As of this morning I've sold my 4th book on Amazon. It's quite exiting. I think I'll save up my gift certificates (who needs cash when I spend on Amazon so regularly?) and get one of the seasons of Star Trek, The Original Series. That's something Keith and I will both enjoy. After all, "he's dead, Jim" never gets old. Or how about "I'm just a country doctor, Jim, not a miracle worker." It never ceases to amaze me how that old country doctor can find cures for the most odd things imagineable. As Keith says - he read the script.
I'll write more later. Scoots has another vet visit this morning. He needs his rabies vaccination, and while I wish I had remembered this when we were there a few weeks back, at least this way his doctor can check the results of the sub-q. Hopefully he's staying hydrated enough that we won't have to do anymore sub-q. I'll know if we do in just a couple of hours.
As of this morning I've sold my 4th book on Amazon. It's quite exiting. I think I'll save up my gift certificates (who needs cash when I spend on Amazon so regularly?) and get one of the seasons of Star Trek, The Original Series. That's something Keith and I will both enjoy. After all, "he's dead, Jim" never gets old. Or how about "I'm just a country doctor, Jim, not a miracle worker." It never ceases to amaze me how that old country doctor can find cures for the most odd things imagineable. As Keith says - he read the script.
I'll write more later. Scoots has another vet visit this morning. He needs his rabies vaccination, and while I wish I had remembered this when we were there a few weeks back, at least this way his doctor can check the results of the sub-q. Hopefully he's staying hydrated enough that we won't have to do anymore sub-q. I'll know if we do in just a couple of hours.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Eye Candy Sunday
Just a couple of photos, as promised.
Chemo hat for Gina. I've made it from Lion Cotton by Lion Brand. I had it from my washcloth knitting frenzy. Yes, I did screw up the count for one of the cable rows. I've decided it's a design element.
Automatic bedwarmers working to prewarm my side of the bed. And eww, my sheets didn't photograph well at all. They are a natural, creamy color and several years old. I'll make sure to pull up the quilt next time so you aren't subjected to yucky looking linens. (Ok, I'll admit I've just found a reason to go shopping.)
Chemo hat for Gina. I've made it from Lion Cotton by Lion Brand. I had it from my washcloth knitting frenzy. Yes, I did screw up the count for one of the cable rows. I've decided it's a design element.
Automatic bedwarmers working to prewarm my side of the bed. And eww, my sheets didn't photograph well at all. They are a natural, creamy color and several years old. I'll make sure to pull up the quilt next time so you aren't subjected to yucky looking linens. (Ok, I'll admit I've just found a reason to go shopping.) 
My second amigurumi egg, but the first one that came out looking like it's supposed to. I thought I had a better focus with the macro lens. (it looked ok on the camera)
As for amigurumi, I think Mad Crocheter and Beth have created a monster. I found myself thinking about crocheting the Residents while driving to work yesterday. Yes, I can crochet with tiny cotton thread and get the heads right. Well, maybe I can.
As any of you crafters know, I've got too much stuff already to get finished or started, yet my brain keeps spinning with new ideas or patterns I've got to make. If only I could win the lottery and have maybe 6 months of self-imposed hermitage to get some of this stuff done. And D'oh! it's back to only 12 million.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
First amigurumi finished!
One of the greatest things about doing crafts is that I am continually learning things. Yesterday, after I crocheted an entire happy egg in cotton classic and the bottom of an egg in Fantasy, I realized that I have been crocheting incorrectly all these years. I haven't been putting the hook in quite the right space when making a stitch. Explains a lot about why my crochet looks a bit crappy. I've left the egg in the cotton classic, but I frogged the one made in Fantasy. I really need to knit up another hat for FMWC tonight, so amigurumi will have to wait until the first meeting of the amigurumi group tomorrow.
I'll have to take pictures tomorrow morning of the egg and the cabled chemo hat. Sorry for teasing you by not including pictures. It's actually been raining here for the past few days, and my stone bench is too wet for fiber goods right now. Honestly, I have no desire to stand in the sprinkles just to take a picture or two. I'm not complaining as we desperately need the rain. The water levels at Lake Lanier haven't risen yet, but it takes a day or two for all the runoff to get there.
I'll have to take pictures tomorrow morning of the egg and the cabled chemo hat. Sorry for teasing you by not including pictures. It's actually been raining here for the past few days, and my stone bench is too wet for fiber goods right now. Honestly, I have no desire to stand in the sprinkles just to take a picture or two. I'm not complaining as we desperately need the rain. The water levels at Lake Lanier haven't risen yet, but it takes a day or two for all the runoff to get there.
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